1312 AD: Ripu Malla, King of the Malla
Kingdom of Kathmandu, visits Lumbini. He is the last visitor to leave
evidence of his visit prior to the site remaining in oblivion for
centuries.

1896: General Khadga Shamsher, Governor
of Tansen, organizes an expedition together with German archaeologist
Anton Fuhrer. The Asoka Pillar, which marks Buddha’s birthplace, is
re-discovered.

1899: Excavation by Purna Chandra
Mukherji discovers the main piece of the Nativity Sculpture. Two
additional pieces of the sculpture are found and joined together some
85 years later by Tara Nanda Misra.

1901 - 1970

1932-1939: Excavation work by General
Keshar Shamsher exposes many stupas
and monasteries.

1956: King Mahendra visits Lumbini and
proposes steps for Lumbini’s development at the Fourth Assembly of
World Fellowship of Buddhists.

1956: The Ancient Monument Preservation
Act gives the Department of Archaeology the authority to “preserve
ancient monuments, control the trade in archaeological objects,
excavate ancient monuments sites, and acquire and preserve ancient
monuments and archaeological, historical or artistic objects”.

March 1959: UN Secretary-General Daag
Hammarskjöld visits Lumbini.

February 1962: Devela
Mitra excavates the base of the Asoka Pillar.

April 1967: UN Secretary-General U Thant
visits Lumbini, and initiates international support to develop Lumbini
for pilgrimage and tourism.

1971-1980

1970: The International Committee for
the Development of Lumbini is formed in New York under the
chairmanship of Nepal’s Permanent Representative to the UN.

The then Prince
Gyanendra Shah of Nepal (centre) addressing a special meeting of the
International Committee for the Development of Lumbini, on 11 June 1987
at UN Headquarters. Also seated at the head table, from left to right
are: William Draper III, Administrator, UN Development Programme
(UNDP), Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cullar, Jai Pratap Rana,
Permanent Representative of Nepal to the UN, and Andrew J. Joseph,
Assistant Administrator, UNDP.
Photo: UN Photo/Yutaka Nagata

1970: The Government establishes the
Lumbini Development Committee which becomes the Lumbini Development
Trust in 1985.

1970-1971: Babu
Krishna Rijal locates and excavates an area which matches the
description of the Lumbini Village as inscribed in the Asoka Pillar.

1972: The Advisory Panel for the
International Committee for the Development of Lumbini
requests that Kenzo Tange to prepare a Master Plan for Lumbini.

1972-85: Excavation activities by the
Department of Archaeology.

1978: The Government and the UN approve
the Kenzo Tange Master Plan. The implementation of the Plan is
scheduled to be completed by 1985.

Kenzo Tange (2nd from
left) during his visit to Lumbini.Photo: Lumbini Development Trust

1981-1990

1981: UN Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim
visits Lumbini.

1985: The Lumbini Development Trust Act
is passed and the Lumbini Development Trust is delegated to implement
the Lumbini Development Plan.

1991-2000

1992-1995: Excavation work by the
Department of Archaeology, the Lumbini Development Trust and the
Japanese Buddhist Federation during which the Marker Stone, set by
Emperor Asoka to mark the exact location of the birth of Lord Buddha,
is discovered in 1995.

1996: The archaeological remains of
ancient Shakya Kingdom in Tilaurakot (Nawalparasi District) and the
relic stupa
of Lord Buddha in Ramagrama (Kapilvastu District), both closely related
to Buddha's life, are included in the Tentative World Heritage list.

1997: Lumbini is included in UNESCO’s
World Heritage list.

1998: The World Buddhist Summit declares
Lumbini to be the "Fountain of World Peace".

1999: UNDP commissions a Vision and
Scoping Mission led by Young Hoon Kwaak for developing the idea of
Lumbini as the "Fountain of World Peace".

After 2001

2002: The Government establishes the
Gautam Buddha International Peace Award. Tadatoshi Akiba, the mayor of
Hiroshima, and Tomihisa Taue, the mayor of Nagasaki, are the first
recipients of the award in 2011 in recognition of their contribution
towards advocacy for disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation. Each of
the awardees is given USD 25,000.

2003: The restored Mayadevi Temple opens to the public for
the first time on 16 May 2003 to
celebrate the birthday of Buddha.

Mayadevi Temple after
it was opened for public.Photo: Lumbini Development Trust

2004: The Second World Buddhist Summit
declares Lumbini as a "World Peace City".

2005: Last meeting of the Foreign
Ministers of the Member States of the the ICDL (16 September) on the
sidelines of the High-level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly at
the UN Headquarters in New York.

2008: UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon
visits Lumbini.

2010: Asian Development Bank begins
South Asia Tourism Infrastructure Development Project which includes
upgrading the Gautam Buddha Airport close to Lumbini.

2010: A three-year UNESCO/Japanese
Funds-in-Trust for the Preservation of the World's Cultural Heritage
project entitled "Strengthening the Conservation and Managment of
Lumbini, the Birthplace of Lord Buddha" is launched to address
conservation and management issues and challenges facing the World
Heritage Site.

2011: The Greater Lumbini Development
National Steering Committee (GLDNSC) is established with the mandate to
develop a Master Plan for the Greater Lumbini Area and garner
international support for the development of Lumbini.

2012: The government signs Memorandum of
Understanding with Korea International Cooperation Agency for the
preparation of a master plan for Lumbini World Peace City Preservation
and Development project.

2012: The government declares 2012 as
"Visit Lumbini Year".

References

Kwaak, Y. H. and Brenes, Abelardo. Lumbini: The Fountain of World Peace. Report for the Vision and Scoping Mission.